Easements give specific rights to do certain things on the property of another person—the rights granted by the easement are generally set out in the written easement.
Easements can be a touchy area of real estate law. If you own property, there is a high likelihood that there is an easement on that property. Utility companies have easements for power or fiber optic cables, and there may even be an easement for a highway such as a right of way on your property. The touchy part is that someone else has right to do some activity on your property. Even if you can tolerate this activity, when that person goes outside the terms of the easement, things can get heated very quickly.
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Easements are common in the cattle industry, where moving cattle through the property of a neighbor may be more convenient than going completely through the other side of the ranch. Make sure your easement spells out exactly what the rights are for each landowner and have the easement recorded to ensure it stands.
For instance, if your neighbor’s property is entirely landlocked with no access to established roads, they may have an easement through your property in order to reach their own. This easement will likely be limited to “travel”, such that your neighbor may use a strip of your property to travel to his own property. But what happens when that neighbor decides that that strip of property would be best used as a space in which to store his rusted out car collection? Or that the easement is actually the perfect size to house a go-kart race track?
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An easement is not a grant of property for an individual to do with as they please. The terms of the easement should be spelled out specifically in the document granting the easement (yes, your easement should absolutely be written out, and if it is not, get it written out as fast as you can). What may the receiver of the easement do on the property, when does the easement terminate if ever and on what condition—These considerations will have a lasting effect on the use and enjoyment of your own property, so make sure that the easement spells out exactly what you want to allow.
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In our earlier example, the easement for the neighbor to access his property should state clearly that the rights given to the holder of the easement extend only to travel, without unnecessary delay, between the nearest public road and the border of the property owned by the holder in the shortest distance possible or as otherwise prescribed by the grantor. With this very basic description, we have limited the use of the easement to short durations of travel, and that at the very least, it will be through the shortest portion of the property, unless the grantor of the easement specifies something else. Additionally, we may add in something to the effect of, the easement only existing until such time as a more convenient route to the property is made available to the holder or a public roadway is constructed such that access to the property is possible through land accessible by the owner.
If you have property with an easement, or would like to create an easement, Texas Real Estate Attorney Nathaniel Gilbert can draft a reliable document that protects your interests as either the grantor or the grantee of the easement. If you would like to learn more about real estate law in Texas, Click Here. Otherwise, get in touch with Nate directly to schedule your free consultation.
